Irwin teacher named FWCS Teacher of the Year

Irwin Elementary School teacher Portia Coe has been named the 2009-10 Fort Wayne Community Schools Teacher of the Year.
Coe is the building coach at Irwin, a new position for her that allows her to work with teachers to help them refine their methods and become better teachers. Coe moved to this new position after 22 years as a classroom teacher, the last six as a kindergarten teacher at Irwin.
Coe was selected as Teacher of the Year because of her strength as a teacher, her extensive experience in training teachers through the Region 8 Education Service Center and her use of data to drive instruction. As a building coach, she is now putting all those strengths into practice, including showing teachers how they can use the data they already collect for each student to make sure that all students are learning and growing.
"I strive to teach them to solve problems in academics and social interactions, creating a well-rounded child," Coe said. "I know what skills (students) have not yet mastered, plan rigorous instruction to help them learn and practice those skills and then assess whether or not those skills have been mastered. Then I regroup and do it all again."

With nearly 30,000 students, Fort Wayne Community Schools is one of the largest school districts in Indiana. FWCS proudly allows families to choose any of its 50 schools through its successful school-choice program creating diversity in each school, including some with more than 75 languages spoken. FWCS offers seven magnet schools focusing on areas such as science and math, communication, fine arts or Montessori at the elementary and middle school level. In high school, students can choose from the prestigious International Baccalaureate program, Project Lead the Way or New Tech Academy as well as other rigorous academic and specialty training programs.